Monarchy of the Netherlands

King of the Netherlands
Koning der Nederlanden
Coat of arms of the Netherlands
Incumbent
Willem-Alexander since 30 April 2013
Details
Style	His Majesty
Heir apparent	Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
First monarch	William I
Formation	16 March 1815
Residence	Royal Palace of Amsterdam Noordeinde Palace Huis ten Bosch
Website	The Royal Website

Dutch royal family
HM The King * HM The Queen * HRH The Princess of Orange * HRH Princess Alexia * HRH Princess Ariane * HRH Princess Beatrix * HRH Princess Mabel Countess Luana Countess Zaria HRH Prince Constantijn * HRH Princess Laurentien * Countess Eloise Count Claus-Casimir Countess Leonore Extended royal family HRH Princess Irene HRH The Duke of Parma HRH The Duchess of Parma HRH The Countess of Colorno HE The Count of Colorno HRH The Count of Bardi HRH The Countess of Bardi HRH The Marchioness of Sala HE The Marquess of Sala HRH Princess Margriet * Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven * HH Prince Maurits HH Princess Marilène HH Prince Bernhard HH Princess Annette HH Prince Pieter-Christiaan HH Princess Anita HH Prince Floris HH Princess Aimée HRH Princess Christina Bernardo Guillermo Eva Guillermo Nicolás Guillermo Juliana Guillermo * Member of the Dutch royal house

The monarchy of the Netherlands is constitutional and as such, the role and position of the monarch are defined and limited by the constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a fairly large portion of the Dutch constitution is devoted to the monarch; roughly a third of the constitution describes the succession, mechanisms of accession and abdication to the throne, the roles and responsibilities of the monarch and the formalities of communication between the States-General of the Netherlands and the role of the monarch in the creation of laws.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, but its one-time sovereign provinces have intermittently been "governed" by members of the House of Orange-Nassau and the House of Nassau from 1559 to 1747, since Philip II of Spain appointed William of Orange as stadtholder. William became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and the independent Dutch Republic. As stadtholder, he was followed by several of his descendants. In 1747, the function of stadtholder became a hereditary position in all Provinces of the thus "crowned" Dutch Republic. The last stadtholder was William V. His son William I, became the first king.

The cycle of monarchs is described in the first section of Chapter 2 of the constitution, which is dedicated to the government of the Netherlands.

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Wikipedia